Putting Daddy On by Tom Wolfe

     When Parker finds out that his son, Ben, has dropped out of college and moved to the dreaded Lower East Side of New York City, he asks Tom Wolfe to accompany him on the rescue to save his son.  Set in the 1960s, Putting Daddy On is an essay about the generational uprising that was spreading through the population of young beatniks.  From Parker's perspective of being a successful "forty-six-year-old agency executive" (Wolfe 281), hope for his "flipnik"(Wolfe 280) son is running out fast.  The relationship between a parent and a child is one of great complications.  A father has certain expectations of his son, and when they are not fulfilled it can result in the feeling of failure.  When Ben fails to finish school and become a businessman like his father, this feeling settles within Parker.   

     Wolfe uses the rhetorical device, repetition, throughout his writing in order to emphasize the disintegrating relationship between a friend and his son, and support his argument that at some point, all parents have to let go.  He describes Parker to be "a casualty of the Information Crisis" (Wolfe 280), which is why "he understands everybody's motives" (Wolfe 281).  For example, "he understands why pot-smoking is sort of a religion.  He understands Oneness, lofts, visions, the Lower East Side" (Wolfe 281).  The repetition of this phrase throughout the piece draws attention to Parker's main internal problem; he understands, but he cannot let go.  He cannot let go of the expectations that he once had for Ben.  After he finds his son living in a "craggy space" (Wolfe 284) with a group of flipniks, he finally forms his own opinion that "'the whole thing was repulsive'" (Wolfe 287), allowing himself to let go. 

     Tom Wolfe tells the story from his point of view by observing the situation but never speaking.  I found this technique very effective in making a point because not including his own dialogue makes a statement.  Immediately, I realized that this omission was intended.  This unique first person point of view is another rhetorical strategy that Wolfe uses to add emphasis to the state of confusion Parker is in.  Tom Wolfe purposely refrains from the inclusion of his own dialogue to focus on the issue between Parker and his son.  He realizes before they even visit Ben that Parker will have to let go on his own, without any outside pressure.  

"I saw it from the outside" (Wolfe 287)
http://www.beatnikshoes.com/en/the-beat-generation-the-beatniks/

The White Album by Joan Didion

       For Joan Didion, the 1960s was a decade of realization.  In her essay The White Album, she reminisces on some of her most unforgettable occurrences.  Through her collection of memories from the time period, she explains how she came to see that life is just a series of random events.  Whether it be attending a recording session for The Doors or discussing political rights with young members of the Black Panthers, Didion is certain that none of it was meant to have meaning.
      Being a literary journalist, Joan Didion only sees herself documenting and reporting the truth.  In her 1968 psychiatric report, results read that she has a "fundamentally pessimistic, fatalistic, and depressive view of the world around her" (Didion 423).  The difference between Didion and a narrative story writer is that she does not write to convey a message; she allows the story she is reporting to do that for her.  Throughout The White Album, Didion shares her most notable moments through the rhetoric of small anecdotes she has from the 60s.  She uses these incidents to argue that there is no such thing as destiny.  Using her memory of John Kennedy's death and how she happened to be silk dress shopping, Didion explains her thought that "all connections were equally meaningful, and equally senseless" (Didion 444).  While most authors link events together to display meaning, she breaks them apart with the brutal honesty that there is no connection.  Instead of looking too far into things, she remains on the surface of meaning, taking things the way they come.
     Written for people who experienced the 60s the same way, differently, or others from a different generation, the point of The White Album is applicable to anybody at any time period.  Her message that we lie to ourselves to make sense of things is relevant constantly; 1960s or 2015.
      Reading through her personal anecdotes caused mixed emotions for me while reading.  She recounts, in detail, so many of these seemingly-significant events from a breakthrough era in her life only to then question whether any of it actually means something.  It wasn't until after reading that I had realized none of it mattered; "it was another story without a narrative" (Didion 445).  Joan Didion successfully expressed her message not only through her experiences, but by making the reader feel a sense of disappointment after realizing there is no point.
    

Surface Meaning vs. Deeper Meaning
http://www.a-1discountwaterinc.com/testimonials.html

The Search for Marvin Gardens by John McPhee

         A card reading 'Go to Jail' turns into a vision of "the windowless interior of the basement of city hall" (McPhee 364).  In The Search for Marvin Gardens, John McPhee is able to turn a narrative story into a descriptive vision just by the transition of a paragraph.  While retelling his experience at the Monopoly singles championship, McPhee also shares what he really imagines as he plays the game.  Monopoly, the board game of property buying and developing, is brought to life by his writing.  Through his descriptions, he shows how the popular pastime actually represents something much more significant than a set of cards and dice.  Invented in the 1930s, Monopoly is originally based off of different blocks in Atlantic City, surrounding railroads, and nearby companies.  However, in McPhee's opinion the area was not as glorified as many players may think.  

        Through McPhee's strong use of the rhetorical device, imagery, he is able to convey the message that the once-overdeveloped setting of Monopoly is not as wealthy as it seems.  By describing scenes of "boarded-up window[s]" (McPhee 366), "unemployment lines" (McPhee 366), and "deep and complex decay" (McPhee 365), the author is able visualize the negative effect of urbanization on Atlantic City.

        Alternating between paragraphs, John McPhee switches from his present self to his imagination where he wanders the 1930's Atlantic City streets in search for Marvin Gardens.  Trying to reach Marvin Gardens on the game board means that McPhee is also trying to find it in his imagination.  As he explains how he is quickly losing the championship game, he comes to the conclusion that his "only hope is Marvin Gardens" (McPhee 371).  When he reaches the boardwalk he comes across Charles Darrow, inventor of Monopoly, and asks, "Mr. Darrow, please, where is Marvin Gardens?" (McPhee 371).  His desperation to find Marvin Gardens finally sends him there; to "the one color-block Monopoly property that is not in Atlantic City" (McPhee 371).  By being secluded from the rest of the city, Marvin Gardens is considered a metaphor for purity.  It is the one place on the game board that has been left uncorrupted by Atlantic City's damaging development.  

       Through his imagery and overall metaphoric tone, I found McPhee to be very successful in his efforts to express what Monopoly means to him.  He reveals that Monopoly is not just a board game, but a symbol for Atlantic City's past. 

The Untouched Marvin Gardens
http://www.oocities.org/monopoly_tycoon2003/